BCB directors election dates still unconfirmed

The BCB directors' panel, which nears the end of its four-year term, still awaits a directive from the National Sports Council (NSC) - the regulatory body for all sports federations in Bangladesh - regarding an election schedule. The issue is the result of the year-long deadlock between the Bangladesh board and NSC over control of the board, as each side has been proposing ideas and rejecting those made by the other.

The current impasse is over whether three NSC-appointed directors will be part of the newly elected board. A change has been made to the BCB constitution to accommodate the NSC's call for three representatives, as opposed to just one, but it is still a point of contention. If pushed through, it could - contrary to the ICC directive that Members boards do away with government involvement in the administration of cricket - become a case of government interference. The BCB is largely a democratically elected body that has 24 directors (23 elected and, until now, one NSC representative) and a government-appointed president.

There have been four previous elections: in 1998, 2001, 2005 and, the last one, November 12, 2008. The BCB's current panel is scheduled to be in office until November 28, but the NSC is yet to make the announcement about the next election.

"Everything depends on the NSC. They are in charge of all sports federations in our country, so there's nothing that the BCB has to decide at the moment," BCB's acting CEO, Nizamuddin Chowdhury, told ESPNcricinfo. Sources close to the BCB and NSC have said that the BCB's current directors' panel will be asked to continue - although there is a possibility of the appointment of an ad-hoc body - till election dates are confirmed.

In the previous elections, 167 councillors - representing the cricket clubs of Dhaka, District Sports Associations (DSAs), former cricketers, educational institutes, women's sports body and services - were divided into three categories. The Dhaka clubs held 52 votes (one for each councillor) to elect 12 directors, district representatives had 68 votes to choose 10 directors, while 47 votes from the third category elected one director.

Another point of contention is regarding direct councillorship for former cricketers. The BCB, at its annual conference earlier this year, amended its constitution, abolishing direct councillorship for former cricketers. That amendment was overturned by the NSC.

The new board president, Nazmul Hassan, said last month that the BCB still had points to discuss with the NSC, though he hadn't elaborated on what they were.

ESPNcricinfo has learnt that the ICC has sent the BCB a letter in July, asking to be made aware of the board's constitutional processes so that democratic practices are not compromised; the delay in holding elections may mean a disregard of BCB's democratic practices. The BCB has replied to the ICC with the details of its constitution, and has also written to the NSC regarding these letters, but progress on the election front is still awaited.

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